Co-host of “Pod Save America” Jon Favreau took to Twitter on Tuesday to urge Democrats to rethink their political strategy as they head into the 2022 midterms following the Republican sweep in Virginia earlier this month.
Favreau, who was a speechwriter for former President Barack Obama, cited a series of qualitative findings from a post-election analysis of the recent Virginia gubernatorial race as the main reason for his rising concern that Democrats are not adequately appealing to swing voters who supported President Joe Biden but are now considering non-Democrat candidates for other offices.
“Everyone who participates in Democratic politics should take a few minutes to read this analysis of a Biden-Youngkin focus group from northern Virginia and Richmond,” he wrote.
Everyone who participates in Democratic politics should take a few minutes to read this analysis of a Biden-Youngkin focus group from northern Virginia and Richmond: https://t.co/GOACI8eWbX
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) November 23, 2021
Among the top findings by ALG Research were “Our weak national brand left us vulnerable,” “Voters are unhappy with the direction of the country and don’t think we get it,” “Voters believe the economy is bad, and no amount of stats can change their mind (at least in the short term),” and “Voters think we are focused on social issues, not the economy.”
“I completely understand the frustration that might come from reading this, and I share it,” Favreau continued in the thread. “But I promise you that dismissing or caricaturing these kinds of voters — our fellow citizens — is not the way to win them back. And there’s no path to victory without winning them back.”
There’s also no path to victory without winning back voters who turned out in 2020 but are now thinking about staying home – would love to see some focus groups about what those folks are thinking as well.
It’s not either/or with these two types of voters – we have to get both.
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) November 23, 2021
Virginia’s Republican governor-elect Glenn Youngkin was smeared as racist by his opponent Democrat Terry McAuliffe, the Biden administration, and Never Trump groups grasping at straws to get attention. They also likened Youngkin to former President Donald Trump, but Favreau hinted that kind of behavior is not going to cut it in the upcoming midterms.
“There’s also no path to victory without winning back voters who turned out in 2020 but are now thinking about staying home — would love to see some focus groups about what those folks are thinking as well,” Favreau said. “It’s not either/or with these two types of voters — we have to get both.”
